Tali a name whispered over the fire
by jethro10
Summary: Ziva David's grandparents visit the family but it ends with a death that shakes her to the core. What if Ziva and her family were with Tali when she died?


Tali…

Disclaimer: I only own Abel and Bettina Bachman the rest belongs to CBS.

2001…

"Grandfather!" Tali David raced across the room. Small for her sixteen years she hugged Abel Bachman around the waist.

"Hello Tali, where's your sister?" Abel asked his kindly eyes scanning the room for the woman.

"I am here grandfather," Ziva stood in front of her mother Rivka. The old man could only laugh.

"Mossad have taught you well Ziva," Abel replied. He gave her a hug and she, though tense at first, relaxed in the arms of the seventy five year old man.

"Ari is on a mission Abba but he sends his love," Rivka walked over, taking her turn to hug her father.

"What did I miss?" Bettina walked into the room. "Ziva! Tali! You've grown a lot since I last saw you!" She turned to Rivka. "I was sorry to hear about Ari's mother by the way."

"I never met the woman," replied Rivka. Ziva heard how cold and callous she sounded, though she'd never admit it, Rivka and Eli weren't as far apart in temperature of their hearts as Rivka David made out.

"So where are we going next?" Abel asked. Bettina punched him in the arm.

"That man, he only thinks about his stomach," she sighed to Rivka giving Ziva the impression that this joke had been going on for a long time.

"There's a restaurant downtown but we'd have to take the bus," Rivka responded.

"We're here for a week, in fact we'd be here forever but we're needed back in Oman," Bettina said. She bent down and Tali hugged her.

"Do you want to hear a song before we leave grandmother?" asked Tali timidly. Ziva smiled at her sister's compassion and thought to herself _she wouldn't last a week in Mossad, she's too nice_.

"Yes my sweetheart," Bettina said. She smiled as Tali sang Holding out for a hero in Hebrew.

"Ziva did I sing well?" asked Tali.

"Yes and the best part," she said. "You were adorable singing it. You could become a teen singer like Bit-me Spear."

"Brittany Spears Ziva," Tali corrected. Ziva sighed in frustration.

"It is a queer name!" she snarled.

NCIS

They eventually got on the bus and Tali entertained them with more songs.

"Well done Tali," Abel said.

They were just one stop away when the man got on. He was average height, average weight so no one would give him a second glance. That's why Hamas chose him. Ziva saw that he was tense and made a mental note to watch him. He reached a hand into his pocket and pulled out something tiny attached to a wire. There was a chance he could have been a tourist with headphones, but Ziva knew that wasn't the case. He stood up as the bus stopped, Ziva smashed the emergency door.

"Suicide bomber!" she yelled, shoving people out of the door.

"Ziva!" Tali was stuck in the crowd as the man smiled at Ziva. He brought the detonator up so she could see it.

"TALI!" Ziva yelled, pushing through the crowd, knowing only one objective: get Tali. He pressed the button as Tali was in her sights. A huge explosion and then, nothing.

NCIS

Rivka and her parents had escaped the bus but had seen it go up in flames with at least fifteen passengers including Ziva and Tali still inside.

"Ziva! Tali!" she cried, tears running down her dirty face. She ran into the flaming wreckage as sirens began to blare.

Ziva was on the floor, a bloody wound in her head but she was not crying for her, she was crying for Tali. Tali David lay in a pool of blood, burnt and battered and bleeding. Her face was still pure and Rivka ran over to where Ziva was stroking the soft skin of her sister, praying it was all a nightmare.

"Oh Tali, Tali it's okay, you can go to sleep sweetie," Rivka held Tali in her arms a wave of grief had engulfed her while Ziva sat motionless next to her, already thinking up ways to kill the Hamas bastard who'd sent the bomber.

**Hope you enjoyed that. I pieced together a bit from the episodes such as Ziva's grandparents at least being buried in Oman.**

**Hope you enjoyed my story and as always…**

**Review!**


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